A little more cautious with "printing" now?

[MikeStone]

Speaking of Susanna...she has stated that given the choice again she would have carried her weapon into Luby's in violation of the law. Gotta admit I've thought about that for my children's school Christmas functions.

[E.Marquez]

Speaking of Susanna...she has stated that given the choice again she would have carried her weapon into Luby's in violation of the law. Gotta admit I've thought about that for my children's school Christmas functions.

Sometimes you just have to do what is right

[Texas Dan Mosby]

A little more cautious with "printing" now?

No.

[Heartland Patriot]

The average Joe or Jane out there isn't looking for a gun in a holster, especially one that is covered up. A gun registers on their brain when its out in someone's hand being pointed or waved about (and that leads us to "in a manner calculated to alarm")...IMHO, of course.

[Vol Texan]

A little more cautious with "printing" now?

No.

I'm more observant about others possibly printing, but that's about it.

[tacticool]

I have been carrying long enough and often enough that my answer is no. However, I am sympathetic to those who are new to CHL and haven't acclimated yet to it being a normal part of their life.

[E.Marquez]

Headed out in to the world this afternoon...

The extra mags Im taking today print a bit more then my normal carry set up...

No one but I will know....they never do.

[The Annoyed Man]

You could ask Suzanna Hupp what she thinks of that idea.

I know what she'd say and while my idea to put it in the glove box might not have been the best thought that really wasn't the point of this thread. As I said I kept it on my hip and had I had no issues but the thought certainly crossed my mind especially since parents were just off to my right learning of the tragedy as their kids played in the play pen.

CoffeeNut, I do get where you are coming from. Really, I do........but I've been over and over this stuff in my head, and not just in the light of this most recent shooting spree. I did my first renewal this year and got my new plastic in hand a little over a month ago, so although I haven't been carrying as long as some of the other members of this forum, I've been carrying for five years now—long enough that I've already dealt with these issues and made up my mind a while ago, and new events don't really change anything.

First of all, I dress appropriately. I wore my gun (a XDm-45 Compact 3.8 + 1 13 round backup magazine) on stage this morning, TWICE, in front of about 650 people each time. Nobody knows....unless they know me personally and know I carry. I wore an untucked shirt today, long enough to hang down past the bottom of an OWB holster, and loose enough to hide the gun on one side and the magazine (also OWB) on the other side, pretty much no matter how I moved. The shirt had a striped pattern which would have broken up the outline of any possible printing, but the truth is that my guns don't really print because I dress right for carrying a concealed gun.

Secondly, people are largely dead from the neck up.......even the really smart ones. They just DON'T pick up on subtle details like that. They really don't. Their eyes are drawn to the other person's face, not to the subtle details of what might be under their shirt. Absent looking at the other person's face—and I'm just being really honest here—most guys are looking at a girl's "other features," and women are guilty of the same. In other words, people are "checking each other out," but they are not checking each other out for the possibility of a gun. ALSO, in light of these types of dramatic shootings—Columbine, Aurora, Sandyhook—there were "evil black assault weapons of death" in use, as well as pistols. That bozo in Aurora shot a lot of people with a shotgun, and he finished with a pistol, but that's not what everyone remembers. They remember that he had an AR15 with a 100 round magazine, and that he fired 30 rounds with that AR before it jammed (a powerful argument against those 100 round magazines if there ever was one). That's what people will be on the lookout for, the person with a black long gun, particularly one with a pistol grip and a "shoulder thing which goes up," and they are not likely to notice your or my properly concealed handgun.

Lastly, as LT noted, forget about it and leave it alone. This speaks to whether you or I or any other CHL has confidence in our concealment. It took me a while, but I eventually figured out that the quickest way to give away the fact that I was carrying a gun was to keep plucking at my clothing. The cure was to make sure that I dressed appropriately to hide it, and then to mentally force myself to leave it alone. Eventually it became a habit.

The thing is, we all mourn the loss of these kids......or we do if we have a soul. If someone isn't deeply bothered by this senseless shooting, then he or she ought to seek counseling because they're lacking in normal human empathy. And this ought to be especially true if we have precious young ones of our own. But I can't govern my life according to what other people think of human rights issues when their opinions differ from my own......and make no mistake, the right to keep and bear arms is a human rights issue. The curtailing of human rights as an emotional response to a tragedy is never the right solution. Punishing the innocent for the depredations of the evil or insane by stomping on a human right of the innocent is itself an act of evil.........not that those who would do so believe themselves to be motivated by evil. They actually believe that this is how you deal with evil. But listen to this, they are themselves deceived victims of an evil SO great that it uses their legitimate and hard bought grief to disguise their perpetration of that evil against innocent people by crushing their freedom.

The only way I can fight that evil is to not give in a single inch to it, to face it square on, to acknowledge its existence and its scope, and to shed as much light on it as I can. You may or may not be a person of particular spiritual inclinations. For my part, I am a grateful follower of the Lord Jesus, and I believe His word. In scripture, we learn that evil is darkness, and darkness fears the light and flees from it. If I disarm myself because I am afraid of the sentiments of grieving people, or of people who cynically use that grief to push for a loss of MY rights, then I make myself a willing and complicit victim of that evil. So the only way I know to deal with this stuff is carry on, keep carrying, and to have confidence both in my rights, and the manner in which I exercise them.

.......and don't pluck at my shirt.

Anyway, I hope that explains where I was coming from.

[JALLEN]

Speaking of Susanna...she has stated that given the choice again she would have carried her weapon into Luby's in violation of the law. Gotta admit I've thought about that for my children's school Christmas functions.

The outcome that Suzanna suffered isn't the likely one, or even probable one, that you could expect. The more likely outcome is that you carry your pistol, some nitwit spots it calls the cops, and off you go to the clink, never to buy a gun again in your life. Or is that just how they do things in California?

What is the penalty for carrying at a school function there, permitted or unpermitted?

[JKTex]

.....there are more than enough discussions of printing here to make it a worthy discussion.

I disagree with that. People may talk about it, usually newer CHL holders, or those that don't yet have a CHL, but I can't say I've ever heard of read more than 1 or 2 stories of someone actually exposing a handgun.

But to the point, if you carry, and carry appropriately, there's no reason to be worried about anything. You just keeping doing what's right and move on.

If, someone really is concerned and has to shift clothing etc. then they need to look at how and what they're concealing and fix it. It should be part of your wardrobe each day and become 2nd nature.

[JKTex]

Speaking of Susanna...she has stated that given the choice again she would have carried her weapon into Luby's in violation of the law. Gotta admit I've thought about that for my children's school Christmas functions.

The outcome that Suzanna suffered isn't the likely one, or even probable one, that you could expect. The more likely outcome is that you carry your pistol, some nitwit spots it calls the cops, and off you go to the clink, never to buy a gun again in your life. Or is that just how they do things in California?

What is the penalty for carrying at a school function there, permitted or unpermitted?

See my comments about concealed carry above.

At school functions is a no go. If one does, hope they're concealing well and move on. I'd never recommend it though. If you get caught, I'd be more worried about the people that would be freaking out rather than the unlawful carry (or carrying in a prohibited place, or whatever it's called) charge. You may lose your license to carry (depends on the charge that would be) but that's it.

This ain't quite like California.

[CoffeeNut]

I can't say I've ever heard of read more than 1 or 2 stories of someone actually exposing a handgun.

That's why I was careful to say printing rather than exposing a handgun and on the issue of printing there are a lot of comments and threads that ask about it. I'm a new CHL holder and this was one instance where I was concerned about "printing" due to people's heightened thoughts about shootings hence why I started this thread.

Maybe y'all don't have that issue but I did and thought I'd share. Feel free to lock the thread.

[E.Marquez]

Home after hours of "shopping"

I wore nothing but a long T shirt and shorts with a 4" Xd .45 in a OWB holster at 3:30.
two Mags at 8:30.

A blind man could have seen I was carrying.
A blind sheep never noticed a thing. (this include the various armed security at the 1/2 dozen stores, malls ect I was at.... At least one LEO may have noticed, but if he did, and that's just a guess, he was unconcerned)

[tomtexan]

That's why I was careful to say printing rather than exposing a handgun and on the issue of printing there are a lot of comments and threads that ask about it. I'm a new CHL holder and this was one instance where I was concerned about "printing" due to people's heightened thoughts about shootings hence why I started this thread.

Maybe y'all don't have that issue but I did and thought I'd share. Feel free to lock the thread.

And thanks for sharing. It happens to every one of us and it will pass. I received my license in April of this year and have been carrying daily every since. I don't even worry about it anymore. I carry around sheriff deputies and state troopers almost on a daily basis (because of the business I am in) and not even they know I have one. I've never told them and they have never noticed. And if anyone would notice, I think it would be one of them. So your everyday sheeple public has not a clue. As TAM said, they are looking at other "features."

[Heartland Patriot]

I just got back from a quick Walmart run. The young guy at the checkout counter saw the gun magazine I was purchasing and engaged me in a short conversation about old firearms. It wasn't until I went to walk away after paying that he even noticed my hat said "RUGER" on it. And we were TALKING ABOUT GUNS!